By Jason Wilson
Yesterday I came across a post by John Bratt of the Baltimore Injury Lawyer Blog titled, Are Law Books Obsolete? Yeah, Mostly. In it, he made the following observation:
But some things I think are a lot quicker and easier with a book, like looking up a Maryland statute. If I know what I am looking for I can flip right to it more quickly than I can open Explorer and search. Plus, it helps to be able to browse the sections immediately before and after for related material. There are also a few reference books that I use regularly, like Pleading Causes of Action (Sandler & Archibald) and Maryland Rules Commentary (Neimayer & Schuett). Nearly everything else I do online.
This observation is not unique, but it is worth restating. The point here is that Bratt’s preferences are similar to most attorneys, at least according to Thomson Reuters Legal’s own studies on how lawyers research (with desktop books being referred to as “tools”). It happens to be my preference as well.
From where I’m sitting these days, it would seem that it isn’t about whether or when print will completely die out, but which kinds of print are going away. I’m thinking hardback and 3-ring binder books will soon be a thing of the past, relegated to online services or converted for serious desktop use. But to be suitable as a desktop tool, the book will have to have a soft cover, be perfect bound, preferably with a good lay-flat design, and use quality paper. Publishers will need think hard about design, ensuring that attorneys will be able to access print as readily as possible, which will be particularly important for multi-volume binder sets being converted, many of which will have to be reworked to translate well to soft-cover.
I suspect we’ll continue to see a healthy market for desktop books for the next ten years or so. For all you technologists out there, I wouldn’t get your hopes up about that all digital, cloud library just yet.
[Image (CC) by beingkatie]
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